History Repeats
by Narcolover
Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, Sherrif Leo D'Amato, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.
1. Prologue Elly

History Repeats

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest. Mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Prologue- Elly

I slammed her door in my mother's face and threw my whole weight against it. My baby cousin is dead. _Dead!_ My exuberant, joyous ten-year-old cousin is dead. She's never going to come back. I couldn't face Mom anymore. Her pacifying offering, "I know what you're going through," only makes things worse.

What does Mom know? She wasn't close to Uncle Duncan, and, by association, Lilly. She might have been close to Aunt Lilly, her namesake, but Lilly was nothing like the stories of Aunt Lilly that Uncle Duncan told me. All of those stories were about a teenage Aunt Lilly, some of them featuring Mom, or Uncle Duncan's high school girlfriend. Lilly and I had played a game, we would tell Uncle Duncan ridiculous stories we made up about his mystery girlfriend, trying to explain why he wouldn't tell us her name.

I cried harder remembering the fun we used to have. How could she be dead? She was so young, so full of life. She had been found next to the pool. Drowned, but hauled out and left next to the pool. Lilly was a good swimmer. She wouldn't have drowned. And who would have dragged her out of the pool and not told anyone? But who would want to murder Lilly Kane?


	2. 1 Veronica

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 1- Veronica

I sank weakly into a chair. I knew I should go into the office and work with Dad on the latest case, but I couldn't. I couldn't make my legs work. I couldn't keep my mind from playing through all the times I had spent with Lilly. Which lead into all the times I had spent with Duncan. The day I realized I had developed a crush on him, the day he asked me out, our first kiss. I knew that if the results of that paternity test had been different, I would most likely be Veronica Kane instead of Veronica D'Amato. It was ironic, that the test said I was a Kane, but I never called myself that. And if the test declared me Veronica Mars, the chances were good that I would become a Kane.

Leo is at the station, questioning Duncan. The first sign of the inevitable: Lilly's death pulling Duncan into our lives. The last place I want him, especially under circumstances that have me thinking of the way things were before our Lilly died. I had done so much to keep him far out of my life. I named my daughter Elinor Lillian instead of Lillian Elinor, because he told me that he and Meg wanted a baby. I thought he would want to name his daughter Lilly, and it would be too confusing to have two Lillies. I drifted away from Meg, so that I wouldn't have to see him.

The one thing I hadn't done to keep Duncan out of my life was keep Elly from him. Elly, my precious daughter, whom I couldn't deny anything. I couldn't deny her the chance to know the first man I loved, besides Dad. Or one of the few truly decent people in Neptune, his wife Meg. Meg, who had died just a year after her long-awaited daughter was born.

* * *

I barely heard the door creak open, and Elly come over to me.

"Mom?" she asked. I snapped my head up, and raised my teary eyes to her grey-blue ones, so like Duncan's, so unlike Leo's.

"Yes," I replied, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. I needed to, at the very least, pretend to be strong for her.

"Can we go see Dad and Uncle Duncan at the station?" I hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.

* * *

Elly and I slipped into the police station like we have done so many times before.

"Mrs. D'Amato, your husband is questioning your brother," the new woman at the front desk informed me coldly. I don't know how she knew who I was, or what I'd done to deserve such a harsh tone. I'd never even seen her before. I nodded, and ushered Elly over to a bench where we could collapse. We leaned back against the wall, my arm around her, to get lost in our own sorrows.

* * *

_"God, Veronica, why do you keep staring at my brother?" Lilly asked, following her best friend's gaze as they lounged by the pool. _

_"Please, I am not staring at Duncan," Veronica protested weakly._

_"Oh my god, do you like him?" Lilly exclaimed. "You do! You like Donut!"_

_"Why would you say that?"_

_"Please, you've been staring at him, like, constantly for the past couple weeks. I can't believe I hadn't picked up on it before now! Well, he's tagging along on my date with Logan tonight. You can come too. It'll be like a double date."_

_"Really?"_

_"Of course. Donut really needs a girlfriend, and even if you could do, like, a million times better than him, if he's who you want, then he is who you shall have," she declared grandly, causing both of them to dissolve into giggles.

* * *

_

Even with the sick feeling that accompanies it, that is one of my favorite memories of Lilly. She was so alive, so determined to have fun, and make everyone around her have fun, too. It was the good side of her, the only side I liked to think about. Even the churning feeling I get when I remember how in love with Duncan I was doesn't compare to the gut-wrenching feeling I get when I think of my best friend having sex with her boyfriend's father and stealing the tapes.

"Veronica," Leo said, snapping me out of my reverie as he ran to me, followed by a ghostlike Duncan. I ran to him, and threw myself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. I was vaguely aware of Elly going to Duncan.


	3. 2 Elly

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 2- Elly

"Uncle Duncan," I cried as my father held my sobbing mother up.

"Hi, Elly," he said weakly. His voice was soft, and laden with pain.

"What did Dad say to you?" I asked, holding in my tears. I would be strong for my uncle. He needed it so badly, and I loved him so much. He shook his head.

"It was nothing. Just routine. Nowhere near as harsh as what Veronica's father said to my father."

It took me a second to register what he had just said.

"Don't you and mom have the same father?" I asked.

"I meant Keith," he corrected. I knew that Keith was like a father to Mom, and she even called him Dad, but I assumed that was just because she wasn't close to her family. I hadn't thought that her brother would refer to Keith as her father, especially when he was upset.

"But why did you call him her father?" I persisted, but stopped at the look on his face. He was too tired, too heartbroken, too torn apart to answer. So I lead him to the bench where I had been sitting with Mom, and sat with him.

* * *

_"I've got a secret, a good one," Lilly trilled as she bounced down the walkway as her cousin Elly pulled into the Kane driveway._

_"What?" Elly teased as she got out of the car._

_"I know who Daddy's mystery girl is."_

_"Who?"_

_"Guess."_

_"It's someone I could guess?"_

_"Maybe," Lilly giggled._

_"Are you going to tell me?"_

_"Tomorrow. I'm gonna make you wait." Elly laughed._

_"Get in the car. Let's go see that movie."

* * *

_

"Mom," I began as we sat down to dinner, "I was talking to Uncle Duncan today, and he called Keith your father."

"Want some potatoes, Elly?" Dad asked, trying to change the direction of the conversation. I glared at him.

"Leo, if you distract her, she'll think there's something sinister. She's related to me, after all." Mom chided him. "Keith was my mother's husband. He raised me as his daughter."

I accepted the explanation, but I knew there was more to it than that.

* * *

I waited in my room. I knew that once my parents thought I was asleep they would go to their room to discuss the case. Sure enough, the lights went out, and I heard whispers. I crept out of my room, and into the linen closet. There is a small tube in the closet that opens in their room. If you press your ear to the hole, you can hear anything that goes on in that room. You'd think that, being a PI and sheriff, they'd have noticed the hole and plugged it up. Maybe they decided that I had the right to hear anything I was clever enough to hear.

"Duncan had another episode the day Lilly died," Dad said apologetically. An episode of what? Why was it so horrible?

"Probably for the same reason he had one the day his sister died," Mom said, her voice steely. What did she think Dad was implying?

"I'm not accusing him of anything."

"You implied. He'll be a suspect because he had an episode. He had an episode because he was heartbroken, and horrified."

"You don't know that. It's the most likely scenario, but we don't know for sure."

"He had an episode when Logan jumped off a bridge. No one accused him of pushing Logan off the bridge, even though that was the night we found the sex tapes of Lilly and Aaron, and solved the case."

"Weevil saw Logan jump."

"Well, if you can trust Weevil, why can't you trust me?" Mom's voice was getting angrier with every word. I wasn't following the conversation at all.

"First of all, you know Weevil's trustworthy. Second, he was an eyewitness, unlike you. Third, his testimony just made sense. Logan jumped from exactly the same spot as Lynne. You, of all people, know how upset Logan was over his mother's suicide."

"I know. And I know that Duncan didn't do it." I had never heard my mother defend her brother before. Of course, the idea of my gentle uncle killing anyone was laughable. Dad just wanted a suspect, and, as farfetched as Duncan was, he was probably the closest thing to an actual suspect Dad had.

"How? In your heart? Because you still love him? You know that wasn't good enough for you to clear Jake Kane when your mother said it, and Jake Kane doesn't have type 4 epilepsy."

"I know. You're right. And I've never even seen him have an episode. I don't have any substantial evidence to clear him. Let's just go to sleep." Mom sighed in defeat.

"Okay," Dad agreed, kissing her softly. I sat in the closet, in shock. I had no idea what any of that meant. What had happened between my mother and uncle that gave her the right to stop loving him? Weren't brothers and sisters supposed to love each other unconditionally?


	4. 3 Veronica

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 3- Veronica

I walked up the front walk to Duncan's house and rang the bell. After what felt like hours, he came to the door, and let me in. It was the first time I had been inside of his house. I had dropped Elly off before she could drive. I would stand outside, and wait to pick her up, sometimes with little Lilly, too. When Meg had been alive, she would be my shuttle service, and if Leo had time, he would drive for me. They knew my entire twisted history with Duncan, and respected how much it still hurt to see him at times. They still had soft spots for their first loves, and felt bad that Duncan and I couldn't.

"Hey," I said, smiling weakly at him.

"Hi." He attempted to smile, but it was so feeble it couldn't be called an actual smile. How could I say what I came to say?

I turned to the little table on my right, and examined the photos. There was one of Duncan and Meg on their wedding day, and some from high school, and their honeymoon. There were pictures of Elly and Lilly. Pictures of the Kanes, Jake, Celeste, Lilly, and Duncan. One of them had me in it as well, and, I noticed, none of the other pictures had all four of them. There was even a picture of me with Jake, Celeste, and Lilly. From looking at the pictures, no one would be able to guess that we weren't all one big family.

I picked up a picture from the back of the table. It was of me, Lilly, Logan and Duncan, all dressed up for the dance. We all had our arms around each other, looking like the close-knit group we were.

"I can't believe they're dead," I whispered, my thumb tracing over Lilly and Logan.

"It's only us now," he agreed, sadly. I looked at the picture again. How had we let our friendship fall apart? We had been friends when we both thought we were related. I had remained friends with Meg while she dated Duncan, but after Dad showed me that paternity test, we had never truly been friends.

"Why did you come over here?" he asked, breaking me out of my reverie, as I slid the photo back into place.

"I...I came to tell you that you're a suspect. In Lilly's murder case."

"I know."

"You do?"

"I had an episode. The last thing I remember is Lilly showing me pictures she found."

"Pictures of...what?" I asked, certain I knew the answer.

"Us. Together."

"What pictures?"

"The rest of those," he gestured towards the one I had just replaced, "some random snapshots, pictures of us making out."

* * *

_"Veronica Mars, if you only want to come over to make out with Donut, you could at least say so," Lilly fake-complained as she bursted in on Veronica and Duncan making out on her bed._

_"Lilly, I'm sorry," Veronica apologized. She knew that Lilly was probably joking, but it couldn't hurt to try to make amends, just in case._

_"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one you only want to make out with. Honestly, poor Donut. He must be just dying from all the sexual tension. Give him some release!"_

_"Okay," Duncan said, getting up from under Veronica, and stalking over to his sister as the two girls giggled._

_"I'm leaving, I'm leaving, get back to it!" Lilly promised, slipping back out the door, and shutting it.

* * *

_

"Well, what did you do?"

"I don't know. The next thing I remember is Leo waking me up, and telling me to come in for questioning."

"But, when Lilly died, you don't remember everything up to when you saw her, right?"

"No. But I don't know. I could have done it. And I'm not going to hire someone to take the heat for me. I want the person who killed her to pay, even if it's me."

I looked up at him, longing to press my lips to his. I couldn't remember the last time I had wanted to kiss someone this badly. I turned my face away from him, and hugged him. I stood on the very tips of my toes, my arms right around his neck, my face buried in his shoulder. Surprised, he hugged me back. I allowed myself a second to enjoy being in his arms, before pulling back.

"I have to go," I said quickly.

"Wait, Veronica!" he exclaimed, grabbing my arm. I held my breath, silently begging him not to kiss me. "What should I do about a funeral?"

"Why are you asking me?" I asked him in shock, taken aback.

"Because she was just like her namesake. You knew Lilly better than anyone, even me."

"Then I'd say, if you're going to have one, make it be to remember how alive she was, not to mourn her loss."

"Like Logan did with Lilly's memorial?"

"Exactly like that."

"She'd like that better. To be admired, not mourned." I chuckled slightly.

"You named her well. I'm glad I didn't name Elly Lilly, because Lilly seems so much more like Lilly. I wish I hadn't let our past get in the way of knowing her."

"Me too. You would have loved her."

"Do you ever think about how it could have been? If Keith really was my father?"

"Yes. More since Meg died."

"I do sometimes. Not that often, but sometimes."

"You have Leo. I didn't as much when I had Meg."

"Is it lonely, with her gone?"

"It was, a little, but I had Lilly, and Elly was always over. Lilly...she was everything to me. I don't know what I'm going to do now, without her."

"Have you had girlfriends."

"Some. Nothing serious. Once I lost Meg, I just didn't have the energy to fall in love with someone else. Once I let myself think about how things could have been, I couldn't get myself back to the way things are. I couldn't let you go again. So promise me, Veronica, you never look back. Because even if we were both in the place I'm in now..."

"We couldn't do anything, so it's better that at least one of us is happy."

"Exactly." He smiled at me, and leaned forward, and gently kissed my forehead. "I'll see you around." I nodded, turning so that he couldn't see the tears welling up in my eyes. I turned, and ran out of the house.


	5. 4 Elly

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 4- Elly

"Uncle Duncan?" I asked. I had driven over to visit him. The implications of Dad's words were haunting me, and I needed to talk to my uncle, and work to the bottom of it.

"Elly? I'm so glad you're here. I'm trying to put together a memorial video of Lilly. You...you knew her so well. You'd know what she would want to have in it."

I nodded, and leaned over to help him. My answers would just have to wait. Lilly's memory was more important. For half an hour, we worked in silence, sorting through little videotapes, deciding which went in each of the three piles (definitely, maybe, no way) by reading the labels.

"I wonder if she would have turned out like your aunt," Uncle Duncan asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise. He had always talked about how much alike Lilly and her namesake were.

"Boy crazy. Boy crazy to the point where she broke everyone's hearts. So boy crazy, so wild, so fun-loving and carefree that she got herself killed."

I thought about Lilly for a couple minutes. She was the wildest, most fun-loving, most carefree person I've ever met, and I could easily see her breaking hearts left and right as soon as she noticed boys. She would be the ultimate fantasy for all the males at Neptune High School, including the teachers. She would probably get herself in more trouble than I could imagine.

"Yes," I finally answered. "I can see her being like that."

"So can I. I just don't know if I'm forcing my memory of her aunt on her. You and your father are the only two people who can know you're not doing that."

"Was Mom close to Aunt Lilly?"

"Very."

"Closer than she was to you?"

"Let's watch this one," my uncle said, holding up a tape, "I think we might have to use it."

* * *

"Elinor Lillian D'Amato!" Dad barked as I slipped in the front door. It was past midnight.

"Sorry, Dad. I should have called."

"Damn straight, you should have! Your cousin was murdered just days ago! It's not safe. Your mother and I were out of our minds with worry. She's with Keith now, looking for any leads while the trail might still be hot. I was out with a couple deputies looking for you. In fact, they're still out looking for you. I just came back to see if you had come home, and leave you a note in case you came out while we were looking for you!"

"Sorry, Dad."

"Where were you, anyways?"

"Uncle Duncan and I were making a memorial video for Lilly. We lost track of time, watching her. I would have called you, or come home, if I'd known how late it was."

Dad nodded briskly, then strode to the phone, and started making calls. Calling off my search party. Saying he was out looking for me with a couple deputies was a huge understatement. I lost count after the eighth call he made, not counting the call he made to Mom and Keith.

Once he finally finished, he came over to the table, and sat down across from me, his head in his hands.

"Why didn't you try calling my cell?" I ventured. He stood up, strode over to the counter, and picked up a small silver phone from under the microwave. He brought it back, and slid it across the table to me.

"Oh," I said quietly, inspecting the phone. I slipped it in my pocket. "So, I take it you don't have any leads on the Lilly Kane case," I tried to change the subject. Maybe he would tell me what was going on with Uncle Duncan.

"Not one." No such luck. What had he said? Type 4 epilepsy?

"I'm going to bed. Tell Mom I was really tired when she gets back," I said, moving to my room as quickly as I felt like I could get away with.

* * *

I heard Mom come in as I silently researched Type 4 epilepsy. I heard Dad reassure her, promise her that it would all be alright, that I was fine. Even through the door, I could practically feel their exhaustion, relief, and remaining fear.

* * *

The doorknob turned. They stepped inside, and looked at me, exasperated.

"Mom. Dad. Hey," I tried nervously. They glared at me, and strode over to me.

"She googled Type 4 epilepsy," Mom said, sounding more tired than I'd ever heard her in my life.

"Did he tell you?" she asked me. I knew they would be able to sense a lie. I shook my head.

"Did you hear us talking?" she persevered. I nodded slowly.

They looked at each other, and guided me towards the bed. Mom sat on my right, and Dad on my left. I started to cry.


	6. 5 Veronica

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 5- Veronica

I looked, panicked, from my daughter to my husband. Leo smiled at me, and squeezed my hand.

"That's not how we wanted you to find out. We wanted you to know when he decided you should. But since you know, you might as well know all of it.

"Duncan has a medical condition. I guess you know the specifics of it. I guess you actually know pretty much everything about the disease, and how it affects Duncan, and that it is, in no way, his fault."

"She wants to know how it affects Lilly's death," I whispered. Elly nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that he could have killed her without meaning to, without knowing what he was doing, and not remember it. And we don't have any suspects." Elly nodded again.

"I'm going to sleep now," I announced. Leo nodded, and stood up to follow me, stooping to kiss Elly on the forehead first. I didn't. I didn't have even that smidgeon of energy.

As we lay in bed, curled up, half asleep, I turned to Leo.

"Are you going to go after Duncan?" I asked him. He pretended he didn't hear me. "Please, Leo," I whispered. He didn't hear me.

* * *

I went into my father's office first thing the next morning. Keith and Veronica Mars were going to find Lilly Kane's murderer again. Then, it wouldn't even matter if Leo thought Duncan did it.

"Have you found anything yet?" I asked immediately.

"I thought you found Elly," he exclaimed, concerned.

"We did. I meant on the Lilly Kane murder case."

"Why would you need me to work on that? It's Leo's top priority, he'll tell you everything he can."

"So, you figure, since the police are on it, who cares?"

"Leo has a better chance of solving the case than I do. He has more resources at his disposal, more people who can focus solely on the Kane case. You know that, honey. If I tried to solve it, I would probably only get in the way."

"But we could work on it together! Like we should have done to find Lilly's murderer. If we had done that, maybe we could have caught Aaron. We might have been able to bring him to justice!"

"Veronica, finding out who killed the niece Lilly never knew isn't going to help bring Aaron to justice. This isn't the same Lilly Kane. You barely even knew this Lilly."

"I know it won't bring Lilly back. I know it won't bring Aaron down. But I have to solve this."

"Why? Why the special interest in this particular murder case?"

"Because she's my niece. And, because, if she wasn't my niece, maybe she would have been my daughter."

"Veronica..."

"No, I love with Leo, not Duncan. But, if Duncan wasn't my brother, would I have gotten the chance to fall in love with Leo? I don't think I would have. I first fell in love with him because I needed to. I needed to be in love with someone I'm not related to."

"So, you're taking a special interest in solving this case because of what Lilly could have been?"

"No. I'm taking a special interest in solving this case because of who she was. She was my niece. Duncan's daughter. Elly's best friend. Isn't that enough?"

"Of course. It's more than enough of a reason. But that doesn't change the fact that the investigation will probably run more smoothly if you work with Leo."

I nodded tearfully, and walked back to my car. I was watching my own heartbreaking adolescence, but I was seeing it through my mother's eyes. Except I wouldn't turn to alcohol, or run away. I wouldn't become Lianne. Although I had an advantage; my ex-lover's wife wouldn't try to chase me out of town. Even if she were alive.

* * *

I drove for a while, not knowing where I was going, not going anywhere in particular. I ended up on the beach, the same beach Lilly, Logan, Duncan and I had ditched Homecoming to go to. I got out of the car, and sat in the sand, watching the waves crash against the beach.

Honestly, I had no idea why finding out who killed Duncan's daughter was so important to me. Dad was right. I barely knew her, and I know that Elly isn't the main reason I care. Of course, she's part of the reason. I know exactly what it's like to be her, but that also means I know that she has a burning desire to bring the guilty party to justice herself. Of course, I needed my father's help, and I would have loved my mother's, but I wanted to be the one to figure it out. I wanted to be the one to catch the man who murdered my best friend. If it were only for Elly, I would talk to her, help her search, but I wouldn't want to lead my own, secret search. No, I wanted to solve this mystery for myself, I just didn't know why, or why I didn't want to do it with Leo.


	7. 6 Elly

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 6- Elly

I was in my room, doing my homework, when I heard. Dad came home late, but that wasn't unusual. As sheriff, he has to work overtime a lot. He looked tired, and sad, but he always looked tired, and he often looked sad when he got off late. For some reason, he hated to miss dinner, though Mom has always been a horrible cook. This time, though, he called us all into the kitchen. He only said four words. "We have a lead."

Mom sat down, and started playing with the salt shaker. I had never seen my mother turn down the perfect opportunity to ask a question before, unless she already knew the answer, and then she always had a sly, confident air about her. She clearly did not know the answer to any questions she could think of, and she could always think of questions. It was almost as if she didn't want to know, but that was impossible. I tried to think of anything Mom might not want to know. "Is it Uncle Duncan?" I finally asked.

"No," Dad smiled wanly, "it's Meg's sister."

But I had said the magic words. Mom immediately perked up, returning to her usual, inquisitive self. "Lizzie?" she asked.

"That's the one. We have someone who saw her lurking around the Kane estate close to the coroner's time of death."

"Motive?"

"Money. I did a little research, and it just so happens that if Duncan, Meg, and Lilly all die, then the entire Kane fortune is split between her, and you."

"Me?" I didn't understand why Mom was surprised. Of course the money would go to her. If Duncan died, she was the last Kane. "But I signed away my right to the Kane fortune."

"Duncan and Meg added you back into their wills. Duncan gave me permission to look, and to tell you, if it would help the case. The only problem is, how would Lizzie have known?"

"Meg would have told her," Mom said, her voice strong, and certain. "Meg wouldn't have even thought there could be a reason she shouldn't."

* * *

I drove over to my uncle's house right after. I asked him if he thought Lizzie could have killed Lilly, and he didn't answer for a while. When he did, he seemed cautious, not as sure as my parents that it was possible. He told me that Lizzie had never struck him as particularly greedy. He said he would have thought Lizzie would con a man out of his money, and enjoy every second of it, but not kill her niece for it.

I'm not like my mother. I didn't ask him about "Type 4 Epilepsy." I hugged him, and left quietly, to drive around Neptune. I parked in the lot of the Camelot Motel. I didn't know what made me choose it, but I did. I slid down in my seat, trying to get comfortable.

Maybe I'm more like my mother than I'd like to think. I saw Lizzie leaving one of the motel rooms, her hair and clothes mussed. I hopped out of the car, and jogged to meet her.

"Do I know you?" she asked disdainfully. Right. I had never met her, only seen pictures.

"I'm Elly."

"Okay, look, Elly, I don't know why you're following me, or how you know who I am, but you really have to stop."

"You don't know? Really?" My voice was the same timbre as my mother's.

"You're Veronica's daughter, aren't you?" That must have been a tough one. I favored my mother, and her family. My face and build was Kane, with slight traces of my father's Italian and Greek heritage, and his dark hair.

"Not only am I Veronica's daughter, I'm also the sheriff's daughter."

"Which makes sense, considering Veronica is married to the sheriff."

"So, I'm guessing you know why I'm following you."

"No, I was never so good at following along with Veronica's little mind games, and yours seem to be exactly the same."

"Why didn't I ever see you visit Lilly?"

"Is this part of the same game, or is it a new one?"

"It's a question. I was over at Aunt Meg and Uncle Duncan's quite a bit. Why didn't I ever see you there? Or at Meg's funeral?"

"I was in Europe when my sister died. I didn't know until it was too late. And I never liked Duncan."

"Really. Huh. Why not?"

"He was obviously not over yo- his first love. He never loved Meg the way she deserved."

"You knew his girlfriend?" I asked, excited. "Lilly and I had a game where we tried to guess who she was, and why he wouldn't ever tell us."

"Obviously I knew her. I went to school with them. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, ducking into her car. She paused, with the door open, "Why were you following me?"

"I wasn't. I was just driving around, trying to clear my head, I stopped here, I saw you, I came to meet you." It wasn't even really a lie, but her eyes said quite clearly that she didn't think Veronica's daughter was capable of running into someone by accident. As she drove away, I realized that, if she was guilty, she would know I was onto her, and run. The daughter of Leo and Veronica D'Amato was not someone you wanted trailing you, especially if you had killed her cousin. I ran to my car to follow her, but she was gone.


	8. 7 Veronica

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 7- Veronica

I went to Duncan's, to help him put together Lilly's memorial video. I didn't know whether I believed that Lizzie had killed Lilly. I didn't really, I guess, but I was scared. She had motive, opportunity, and was physically capable of drowning a ten-year-old girl. And, if she had killed Lilly, she wouldn't get anything unless she killed Duncan, too.

Duncan was not at all surprised that I came. He knew that if it was Lizzie, he had to be on the lookout, and I would be worried. When Logan died, he thought I thought he killed Lilly. Duncan knew I didn't want there to be a chance that he would die before I said everything to him I needed to say. And that I wouldn't let him die.

We sat in his huge living room, silently sorting through the cassettes, and disks. "She didn't do it, Veronica," he said, breaking the silence.

"How do you know?"

"I just...do. Lizzie loved Meg. She would never kill her daughter."

"All siblings love each other."

"What about us?"

"We...I don't know what we are. We're more than sister and brother."

"In some ways," he agreed, "but we're less than brother and sister in others."

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean Lizzie didn't kill Lilly, and it doesn't mean I don't love you," I said desperately. "Look, I know you aren't over it yet," unable to bring myself to say 'us,' "and I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I love you, Duncan."

"I know. You don't need to say it."

"Yes, I do. I never tell people that I care for them, not even Elly. After my mom abandoned me, I just couldn't. I told her I loved her, and she left anyways, and I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't think this was the only time you'd ever hear it."

"And I can't leave you. I left you, just before your mother did, and you could tell me you loved me back then."

"I know why you left me."

"You know why Lianne left, too."

"I guess, but she could have stayed. I would have stayed, for Elly. You couldn't have stayed with me."

"Veronica," he said, and I tumbled into his waiting arms, letting him hold me, comfort me.

* * *

"Why don't you get along with Uncle Duncan?" Elly asked as I left the Kane estate. I don't startle easily, but that made me jump. "I mean, he's your brother! You only came to visit him because you think he's going to die, and you wanted to fix things before he died. What is there to fix? What is he not over?"

"You were listening?" It was all I could think to say.

"Not to everything. Answer me!" she begged, close to tears, "Answer me! Why can't you be like a normal sister and brother? Why can't you have Thanksgiving dinners together, big Christmas parties, why didn't you know your niece?"

"Someday," I promised, starting to cry. "I will tell you someday, but I can't right now. I'm so sorry."


	9. 8 Elly

Summary: Veronica must decide whether to stand by her husband, the sheriff, or her first love, and brother, Duncan Kane, as history repeats itself. Slightly AU future fic.

Spoilers: Anything in season 1 is fair.

Rating: PG-13/R for incest, mainly in later chapters.

Pairings: Veronica/Duncan, Veronica/Leo

Disclaimer: I don't own VM, and am in no way affiliated with those who do.

* * *

Chapter 8- Elly

_"I know who Dad's mystery girl was."_ Lilly's words singsong their way through my head again. I haven't been able to get them out since Lizzie told me she knew her. That was why I drove back to my uncle's mansion, to ask him. Now, Mom's words join Lilly's in their dance. _"I know you aren't over it," _and _"I don't want you to take it the wrong way, but I love you." _What was he not over? How was there a wrong way to take your sister telling you she loves you? I had a vague suspicion, so vague I refused to give it life, even in my head. And I needed it denied.

I knew Lilly used to hide things in her air vents. I knew how to sneak into Lilly's room. I slipped through the dining room window, and wound up the stairs. Duncan was immersed in the videos, piecing together the bits that Lilly would want to be remembered by. He didn't hear me.

Lilly's door was open. I wasn't at all surprised. I slipped the screwdriver out of her underwear drawer, which, as she had known, her father hadn't touched, even in the two weeks since her death. I hoped, I prayed, that Lilly had learned the identity of Duncan's mysterious first love in a picture, or a letter, not by word of mouth. I carefully moved a chair, opened the vent, stuffed everything in it down my shirt, closed the vent, and replaced the chair, and screwdriver. I slipped back to my car, and drove back home.

I waited until I was safely in my room, with the door locked to look. I extracted the papers, but kept my eyes closed. Here was the evidence. What it was the evidence of, I wasn't sure. Maybe there would be a clue as to why Mom and Duncan had fought. Maybe there was even a clue about who killed Lilly. Or, maybe I would just be ending a playful game. Maybe there was no reason, maybe Duncan had kept it a secret for the sake of the game, not because it was a secret. Maybe, by looking, I would only set myself farther from Lilly.

I kept my eyes closed as I picked the papers back up, and pressed them to my chest. I put them in my drawer carefully, being careful not to look. Not knowing was something I had shared with Lilly. And, really, what were the chances that it held any clues?

* * *

All through school the next day, I couldn't get my mind off the papers in my dresser. When I got home, I ran straight to my room, and pulled the drawer open. After all, I reminded myself, Lilly had known at the end. I refused to think about what the end was.

The paper on top was a love note, but not one for Uncle Duncan, or from him. It was from Sam Casablancas, a boy a year older than Lilly, and it was for her. I remembered my uncle saying that his sister Lilly had been boy crazy, breaking hearts left and right, and it was what had gotten her killed. It looked like my Lilly really was a lot like her. I put it aside, laughing for the first time since she died. The next paper was a photo of Uncle Duncan, Aunt Lilly, Mom, and Lilly's boyfriend, Duncan's best friend, Logan. Lilly and Mom were making kissy faces at the camera, while Duncan and Logan stood back. There were more pictures of the four of them. Duncan and Mom were obviously close, once, hugging, acting as if they were going to the dance together, not accompanying their sister, and her boyfriend.

Then I saw it. Pictures of Mom and Duncan kissing. On the lips. They were clearly not just acting like a couple, to accompany their sister to the dance. They were a couple. I ran to the bathroom and threw up.

* * *

That was how she found me, sobbing over the toilet, throwing up bile. She asked me what was wrong. I told her to go look on my bed. She went. She came back, and knelt beside me, cradling my head in her arms, letting me sob into her shoulder.

"How could you?" I choked. "How could you?"

"I didn't know," she said soothingly. Trying to pacify me.

"Didn't know what?" I snapped, the coldness in my voice made less harsh by the tears and tremors.

"I didn't know he was my brother. I didn't know that my mom cheated on my dad. I never thought for a second that Keith Mars wasn't my father. My mother was too scared, or too ashamed, or something, to tell me that she'd had an affair with my boyfriend's father, and that he might be my father, too. Duncan started pretending I didn't exist one day. When I told Lilly, she said she'd talk to him, and she did, but then she changed her mind. One day, she said we were meant for each other, the next, she said we would never work out, and I should give it up. And I didn't know why.

"I finally found out, and Duncan and I tried to be friends. But then, after my dad got a paternity test done, after I knew I really was, without a doubt, his sister, we couldn't maintain that friendship. I guess there was always some longing, that was more okay when we only might be related, but knowing that we actually were..."

"It wasn't okay anymore." I said, and she nodded in confirmation. "If Keith's paternity test showed that he was your father," I started, wondering why Mom had never asked me to call him Grandpa, "would you have married Dad?"

"Probably not." There it was, then. Dad was her second choice. As much as I loved Uncle Duncan, as much as I probably would have loved to have him as a father, I couldn't accept the notion. I wouldn't be me. Lilly would never have been born. And I wouldn't know my father, except as the sheriff, who sometimes worked with my mother and grandfather. My sweet, beloved father had never been more than my mother's second choice. Those words hurt and confused me almost as much as learning that Lilly was dead.

"But I can't say I'm too disappointed with the way things turned out," Mom continued. "I know you're thinking that means that Leo was just my backup, that I only wanted him because I couldn't have Duncan. And, that's how it was, at first. If Duncan was not my brother, I might never have had the chance to fall in love with anyone else, and I did fall in love with your father."

"But, now, if you found out that Duncan wasn't your brother, what would you do?" The silence was deafening.


End file.
